Just a Boy
by coyote616
Summary: Peter had known he was just a kid when he started hunting him down. And he'd told himself, this does not affect my decisions in anyway. It had become his mantra, sixteen was old enough to make decisions, sixteen was the age of becoming a man. There were no excuses for the crimes he was committing. At least that's what he thought before he caught him. The stunning blue eyes of the
1. Chapter 1

Peter had known he was just a kid when he started hunting him down. And he'd told himself, this does not affect my decisions in anyway. It had become his mantra, sixteen was old enough to make decisions, sixteen was the age of becoming a man. There were no excuses for the crimes he was committing.

At least that's what he thought before he caught him. The stunning blue eyes of the boy, 'No,' Peter corrected himself, 'This is a man.' But there was no denying that the young eyes and narrow shoulders were that of a boy and not a man.

"Hey," either he had no idea who Peter was or he was playing at something. The voice was young too, in the awkward stage, his entire appearance echoed youth and Peter told himself again, 'Sixteen was old enough to make decisions.'

"Neal Caffrey?" Peter asked, just to justify. This couldn't be the man who had expertly drafted over seven paintings, forgeries that sold for millions of dollars. This was the age of girlfriends and underage drinking, not White Collar crimes.

"Yes?" the conversation continued and Neal was getting nervous. He had not thought he'd be approached coming up the stairs to his own home. He knew who the man across from him was. And he knew that the person upstairs knew what to do if anything happened to him.

"I'm Agent Peter Burke, FBI. Would you mind coming downtown and answering a few questions?" Peter sighed heavily as the boy nodded, 'Wait, man.'

"Can I check on my sister really fast? She's been by herself since she got home from school," Peter cringed at the words. No one had mentioned anything about a sister, but they had mentioned that Neal was parentless. Peter assumed the girl was parentless as well and he bit the inside of his lip to keep from cursing and letting out his frustration in front of the kid. He did not like to not know everything that was happening in his case, and a sister was something BIG.

"Mind if I follow you up?" Peter asked casually and Neal shook his head.

"No, Amelia likes visitors. I work a lot of late nights but she has to go to school, so we don't get to hang out much," Neal babbled all the way up the stairs. Peter noticed that the words he was using to describe Neal were getting more juvenile. A boy, old enough to make decisions, but not old enough to be a man.

The girl was sitting at the table, a pencil in hand, rapidly writing something. Her eyes didn't leave the paper and her black hair was pulled up into a bun that sat on top of her head. Finally setting her pencil down she looked up, "Oh sorry. Who's your friend?"

She was no more than fourteen. Too old to slide into the system, not that anyone just 'slid' into the system. No one adopted older kids, what would happen to her? What would happen to those bright blue eyes and that innocent look and voice?

"I'm Peter Burke, from the FBI," he came to shake her hand and she stood her face suddenly going whiter than Peter thought possible. She recovered quickly and half smiled. 'On a way to becoming a con herself,' Peter quickly regretted the bitter thought. Sympathizing with her he thought of what it would be like to not have any parents, to have to take care of his younger brother.

"Milly? Have you eaten?" Neal had wandered to the kitchen missing the conversation.

"No, I wanted cereal but we didn't have any milk," she sat down again and Peter glanced at her paper. The math that covered it was far beyond any of the skills Peter had ever gone through and he looked perplexed at the paper when he heard Neal laugh.

"She's applying to private school next semester, but I won't be able to afford it. So, she's been working really hard to get in on full scholarship. That means a hundred percent on her criterion referenced tests," she raised a finger for an objection and he laughed again, "Sorry Mills, a hundred and one percent."

Peter smirked at that and made a split second decision. One that he'd probably have to pay for with his wife later.

"Come sit down Neal," he moved chairs out from around the table and Neal listened. There wasn't a violent bone in the kids body and Peter huffed a breath, "You know why I'm here."

He didn't expect an answer. That was admitting to the crime and he was smarter than that, "I'm here to take you in on account of seven forgeries that were all thought to have done by you. And listen, you're a minor, sixteen with a good reputation at your studio job and a good one at your old school. No one would have ever thought that you'd be the one to do it, yet here we are."

Neal didn't break eye contact with him and his eyebrows crinkled together in guilt, 'Reading it wrong Peter, that's sadness,' Peter told himself and looked at Neal who bit the inside of his lip and finally broke contact.

"I'm willing to offer you a deal. Obviously, I have to run it through a chain of command but I think they'll go for it," he could feel Milly drinking in his words and see Neal's chin start to raise. He knew he didn't have the upper hand but Peter would be damned if he went to prison for a bunch of paintings that meant nothing in comparison to these kids lives.

"Come live with me and my wife. You can go back to high school. We can help pay for her private school. We'll take you in as an exchange for the two years of prison that they want to put you in. Just until you graduate, then you can leave and never come back," Neal's eyes had widened slightly with surprise.

"Prison Neal?" Amelia's voice was soft and she rounded the table and sat herself on Neal's lap. He held her close. She knew the consequences but they had seemed far when that first paycheck came in. The first time they put down anything on the little apartment they lived in now. The payment had to be larger than normal, two minors living there, it had almost taken the whole thing. But they had not cared at all.

"Let's just hear what Agent Burke has to say," Neal looked up at Burke who appeared to be wiping away a few tears from his eyes.

"There are a lot of kinks, but my wife is a good woman. And she can take good care of you and she's a hell of a cook. So, I don't know what you want to do, but let me take you in tonight and we'll get settled in the morning. If you refuse to come in with me, I'm obligated to keep chasing you. Is that clear?" Peter normally knew whether he had won or loss yet at the moment he was unsure as Neal mulled over the options and looked from his sister to Peter before reaching a hand across the girl.

"Agent Burke," his handshake was firm, "I hope to be welcomed into your family."


	2. Chapter 2

_Just so you guys know I will get to where he meets El. But I thought of this first and was pretty satisfied with it :)_

Peter recalled remembering when he first had met Neal. Thinking that he should be in a time of underage drinking and girlfriends. When he said that he hadn't thought about the kid being his now, and being so wasted that he couldn't walk. His sister had gone to pick him up. But he couldn't bear to be angry at the girl. Tears streamed down her face as Neal leaned on her looking up with his normally bright eyes now dulled.

"He didn't want to drive. So, he called me and I'm so sorry Peter," Milly bawled and Peter bit the inside of his lip thinking what to do and how not to scream at either of them. At that moment El came down the stairs in her robe.

She took one look at the crying Milly and the heavy Neal and went to grab her brother from her.

"You did okay Milly. Next time wake me and Peter up. I'd rather go pick him up wasted then scrape him off the road," El assured as she maneuvered Neal to the couch while Peter continued to stare down at Milly, "Right Peter?"

Peter bent down to be eye level with Milly who backed up at any sort of movement from him. El and Peter both recognized the motion, signs of abuse, and Peter sighed heavily. He knew their home life hadn't been that great before their parents had died but he never thought he'd be the one to cause that reaction.

"Mil," he put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her into a hug, "It's going to be okay. Go up to bed I'll see you in the morning."

Milly let him go and nodded before going up to bed. Peter turned his attention to Neal afterward. The kid sat staring forward almost falling asleep and Peter looked at El before motioning her into the kitchen.

"What the hell are we supposed to do?!" Peter whispered yelled throwing his hands up in the air, "What mind state is he in that he gets DRUNK and then calls his little sister to come pick him up."

"Peter," El grabbed his hands and put them down at Peter's sides, "We're going to have to let him sleep it off and then deal with him in the morning. Nothing's getting through tonight. He's tired and frustrated. Maybe now isn't the time."

Peter glared at the floor, "He's going to be so hungover in the morning. This is the first time that this happened in my knowledge. I'll ask him what happened tomorrow. What is in his head?!"

El walked past him and he left the kitchen to find her tucking Neal in putting a bowl next to the couch for him to puke in as well as a water and Peter half smiled before going back upstairs, checking on Milly's sleeping form, before going in back to sleep.

Neal woke up feeling worse than he had the night before. And he was pretty sure he'd been drugged the night before. However, living with the Burkes he didn't dare call and tell them about a party Wilkes had been invited to that he hadn't wanted to go to and actually just waited in the car for Wilkes for. He didn't want to tell them that Wilkes' criminal buddy that he was meeting there had slipped something meant for Wilkes, and in Wilkes' panicked form, he had ran. This left Neal with calling Milly. Who had been scared on the other end of the phone as he slurred his words. He knew Milly didn't think he'd get drunk, not when he was ready to run at any time.

He could only guess what happened as he felt himself wake up on the couch his body covered in sweat. He felt like he hadn't eaten in days and his head spun and hands shook. He looked at the clock. It was seven in the morning on a Saturday and Neal was about to get in the worst trouble of his life. He wondered if the car had gotten home or if Milly had taken him in something else. With absent memories from last night he realized that the Burke's may not have caught him at all. However, the fact that there was a bowl and glass of water by the couch he figured that he had been caught by at least El.

He heard something on the stairs and looked to see Milly who glared at him as she came and sat down on the opposite side of the couch.

"I told you not to go with him," Amelia's voice was stern and Neal looked down at the ground. He'd let her down too. They may even be kicked out of their own home.

"Milly, I was drugged," Neal's excuse came fast but she had already thought it through. Probably all night if Neal knew her like he did.

"I specifically said that Wilkes' was going to get you killed. I know you were drugged I saw the needle on the ground. It took me half an hour to get to you and all because you were acting like a total idiot. What are you proving to Wilkes' huh? He has done nothing for you. He's been nothing but your enemy," Amelia didn't meet his eyes when he finally looked up and Neal tried to calm the shaking in his hands.

"How mad were the Burke's?" Neal asked softly and she scoffed loudly.

"We're probably going to get kicked out. And you'll go to prison and I'll go to a foster home because you don't know how to pick your friends. Peter was understanding sure, and so was El even, but that's only because I wasn't the one who came home and wasn't even able to get up the stairs."

Now that her rant was over she looked up at him with big concerned blue eyes. He saw tears at the bottom of them and both didn't notice Peter sitting at the top of the stairs listening to every word hesitant to step in. The name Wilkes seemed familiar and he knew he'd look it up once he was at work again. And seeing as the kid had gotten drugged he knew it wasn't his fault. However, there was no way this could happen more than once in his house. He didn't need the riff raff.

"Mil can you help me up?" Neal asked and she shook her head.

"You were roofied. You're light headed. Let me get you something to eat," she left the room before Neal could protest and Peter found it as a good time to make his way down the stairs making as much noise as possible.

Neal looked up and then looked back at the blanket. Peter could hear movement in the kitchen and then glared at Neal.

"Mr. Burke," Neal began and Peter put up a hand to stop him.

"If you're going to continue this, you can go somewhere else. You are too smart to not know when someone is a decent person or not. You read people too well. Now Neal, I don't want you or your sister to leave but you're putting my wife's life on the line too when you go out making bad friends and bad deals. You're putting your sister's on the line when you ask her to drive you home at two o'clock in the morning on a Friday night. I don't feel like I'm asking for too much when I say, don't be friends with them, and we won't have a problem," Peter watched Neal nod.

"Wilkes dad is abusive Peter. He makes him do stupid things and I thought Wilkes was my friend. And so, I went with him and when I got drugged he left me to die in the street. I knew he wasn't good but I blamed it on his Dad. I'm sorry Peter. It won't happen again. It won't I promise," Neal still shook and Peter almost told the kid it was okay. But he'd let El do that. The kid needed some time to think and reflect.

Milly brought out a bowl of oatmeal and some orange juice on a tray and set it on Neal's lap before turning to go up the stairs back to her room. Peter was amazed at how she commanded the room even when angry.

"Eat, El is going to dish you out a punishment when she gets up. And if it happens again you and I are going to have a problem."

"Yes sir," Neal whispered and Peter stood leaving the kid to his thoughts wondering what El was thinking of at the moment.

El was deciding whether or not she should ground him or take away his paint stuff or even let him off the hook. Milly had told her what happened after she had gotten Peter settled down again last night. The girl was as convincing as the day was long and her careful explanation of why Neal had done the things he'd done was enough for her to know that his heart was in the right place. As a teenager he didn't think of the repercussions. He was dealing with them now with his hungover, roofied self downstairs.

"What are we doing with him?" Peter asked shutting the door behind him.

"I can't think of anything worse than grounding him Peter. He's kind of dealing with it now himself. I mean he's sixteen. Sixteen with a whole world ahead of him and yet he sits there thinking about what his sister thinks. She's got after him too, which is good, but I don't know Peter," El sat and tried to think of something worse but nothing worse came to mind than Neal's own guilt tripping.

"I agree. Can you not put it like that though?" Peter kissed her on the cheek and gestured towards the door, "Your turn."

El's gentle talking to made Neal feel worse than both Milly and Peter's combined and when he started bawling she held him tight as he shook.

"Now get some sleep baby boy. You'll feel better tonight."

Maybe sixteen was the age of underage drinking and girlfriends, but with Neal Caffrey nothing was ever dull.


	3. Chapter 3

Milly was sick. And this is the first time ever that Ne;al hadn't noticed. She wasn't angry, Neal was doing well in school, well in life really. Peter and Elizabeth game them chores which was nice because if they didn't happen it wasn't like someone wasn't paying the rent. Still didn't change the fact that she was sick. And didn't change the fact that Neal hadn't noticed.

She was fine, she knew that. She was going to be perfectly alright. It was just a cold but she was used to being told to drink some vitamin C and get over it. The perfect kind of compassionate brotherly love that got her through the day.

"Amelia! Ready for school? If you hurry Peter will drop you off," she frantically hurried after that. She hated riding the bus and called back down the stairs that she was hurrying.

She sat in the passenger's seat now waiting for Peter. She skipped breakfast, her normal favorite meal of the day, because she wasn't hungry. And Peter had brought her out a giant muffin, thinking that she'd missed it because she was not hurrying.

"Thanks Mr. Burke," she told him grabbing it from him and he smiled before slipping into the driver's side. She proceeded to wrap it up to put it in her backpack for later.

"Wait a second? You're not hungry?" Normally the kind of thing Neal noticed but she would take it.

"No, not this morning," she shot him a half smile, hoping it would assure him that she was alright.

"Milly, are you okay?"

"Yeah just got a lot on my mind," she smiled again at him and he let it go.

Throughout the days Milly, despite her copious taking of vitamin C gradually got worse. She ate less, spent more time in her room, and took longer to do her homework than she ever had before. And finally Neal noticed.

"'Melia?" he asked, knocking once and then coming in.

"Yes Neal?" she questioned back sitting up in bed doing her homework. He noticed immediately what he'd been missing the past week.

"Milly? Are you sick?" he rushed towards her, putting a hand on her forehead. He could feel she was warm, he had internal brother thermometer. He'd taken care of her for so long.

"Yeah, it's just a cold, I'll get over it," she waved it off, still doing her homework.

"You know colds don't just stay colds with you. You know you get pneumonia every year."

"Yes Neal, tell me some more facts about my own life," she laughed him off and he raised an eyebrow at her.

"Milly, please be honest. If you feel like it gets worse tell me, please," he was very sincere Milly noticed and she absentmindedly nodded and then pointed towards the door. Neal left, sure he had gotten through to her.

More days past, most exciting things happened at night, but this one happened very early in the morning. Most people don't know this but you don't necessarily have to cough a ton for a doctor to know it's pneumonia. Most the time, it's the way your lungs sound that tips them off. But no one in the Burke household could deny that the barking seal cough was unsettling at five o'clock in the morning as they all started to wind up and get ready for the day.

"Shit," Neal mumbled and repeated his knock from the other day. Classic knock and barge in as he went to go watch over his sister. She was still asleep, curled on her side. What was he thinking? She never told him she was sick before. One time in the middle of a high speed chase she'd puked in his car despite notoriously never being car sick. When asked why she told him that she'd had a stomach bug for three days now.

"Hey Mill," he put a hand to her forehead, now running a hot temp and he cursed himself. She stirred slightly and she looked up at him.

"Neal? Get out my room. Trying to sleep," she coughed again and he shook his head. The same moment, Peter and Elizabeth came in.

"Everyone okay?" Elizabeth asked going to sit on the side of Amelia's bed. She noticed the sweat soaked hair, pale skin, and trembling hands all too late. Guilt overwhelmed her and she sat there for a second getting her act together.

"I'm just a little sick, can't go to school today," it wasn't a lie, she didn't think she should be going to school.

"Amelia I think we need to go see a doctor," Elizabeth was soft and calming and Peter watched from the doorway in awe. From a family of two to a family of four in the blink of an eye.

"I don't want to get out of bed," she told Elizabeth, "I"m too tired to get out of bed. So please don't make me."

Neal turned to look at Peter and then Amelia. He knew how to deal with a sick Amelia.

"Ready for some deal or no deal?" he asked and she half smiled at that, looking very young and very weak wrapped in the blanket.

"Go for it," Amelia turned to cough into her pillow again and Elizabeth put an ear to her chest. She could hear the crackling of the lungs. That's pretty severe pneumonia. Her brother had gotten it every year as a kid.

"Alright, we all head to the doctor's and afterwards, you and I, we watch a movie. Deal or no deal?" he asked emphatically and she looked at Elizabeth, who nodded, that was the deal and nodded herself.

"She takes the deal," Peter spoke joining in the game in a game show hosts voice.

"Peter, call the doctor please and tell him we need an immediate appointment," she said it calm but he detected the edge on her voice. She was worried about Amelia who her and Neal helped get up and bundled up before hauling to the doctors.

It was cold there and she was reluctant to take off her coat to be checked out. Neal grimaced as only Elle went back there with her. It was uncommon for him to sit on the sidelines. But he guessed he'd kind of been doing that already.

"She's alright Neal," Peter assured and Neal shook his head slightly.

"She'd have been more alright if I just took care of her like I'm supposed to. I know better. She gets pneumonia every year but when I talked to her. She said she was fine. I just wanted to believe that too. That she was fine," Neal was frustrated and Peter wrapped an arm around his shoulder and squeezed tight in a side hug.

"You can't blame yourself for what she doesn't tell you. You just can't. So, be tough, because she's going to be needy for a couple days. Can you handle that?" Peter teased and Neal huffed a breath of air out before nodding.

"Does this mean I can miss school?"

"No way in hell."


	4. Chapter 4

When El first met Millie she thought her heart might burst. The girl was small framed but had some muscle to her and she had the same eyes that Neal had. She had met Neal the week before, he was a good looking kid that she wrote in her head to keep him out of trouble.

She was surprised that Peter had offered so quickly until she met Millie. Her black hair was pulled into a top knot on her head and her features were slender and feminine. She was someone she instantly took too and she wished she could say the same for Millie.

She spent most the time in her room, studying, and when El offered anything she politely declined. She was uneasy around the Burkes still, the opposite of Neal who had settled in quite nicely. Peter could start playing catch with kid next week and the neighbors would think he was their long lost son.

"Amelia?" she knocked and heard a 'come in.' She was at her desk, books propped up every which way, she didn't look up until El sat down in the chair next to her. She could tell it was math of some sort but that was where the recognition ended. She set down the hot cocoa she made and studied the books for a moment longer.

"It's calculus. It's actually more math theory. It's what I'm doing to prep right now," Millie explained studying El. Her effort was endearing but Millie had no idea how to open up to someone like her.

"So Neal's an artist and you're?" she trailed off in question and Millie smiled at her.

"Neal picks up on everything fast. He turned to art because it was instantly gratifying. Every stroke is one you can see, every practice painting can improve quickly. And there was no one who questions the traditional artwork. We can all agree that the Mona Lisa is intriguing. We can all agree that Starry Night is mysterious. And we can see that anything Neal paints is beautiful," she still scribbled down some numbers, "I like school because of the competition. I can't predict everything that a person is going to say or do. But I can anticipate how hard they'll work. And then, I can work harder. So, I'm not a mathematician or anything, just driven."

El nodded and then stood up and put a bookmark in one of the books and shut it. Millie raised an eyebrow at her, not about to argue.

"Let's go drink some hot cocoa, watch a documentary, and make dinner," El invited. El already knew Millie's test scores, they were one of the first things the government had sent over. As if that determined whether or not El would take the child. But having them meant she knew how ahead she actually was. She could afford to take a break.

"But," Millie began and El smiled rolling her eyes.

"You're not behind. In fact, you're way ahead. Let's enjoy life a little. I know you're dying to know how much Neal drove Peter crazy before he caught him," Millie's eyes lit up at that.

"I actually am," grabbing the mug of hot cocoa they went downstairs together, seeing the two boys on the back porch El didn't envy their relationship like she had the last week. She could tell that she was going to find some closeness with Millie.

Millie wasn't angry at Neal for loving Peter right off the bat, a little surprised, but never angry. She was happy to see him happy and now happy for herself that El and her had hit it off. Helping navigate around the kitchen El taught her a simple recipe and Millie soaked it all in. It had been a long time since she'd had any sort of mother figure in her life and she thought this one might stick.


End file.
